Module 6
Intercultural Leadership in
Indigenous Teaching & Learning:
Where to from here?
Plan
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Welcome
Summary of modules 1-5
Panel and questions
Intercultural leadership
Community of practice
Modules
• Module 1: Introduction to intercultural (I/C)
teaching & learning leadership
• Module 2: Mindfulness in the classroom
• Module 3: I/C skills to facilitate learning
• Module 4: Professional skills for I/C leadership
• Module 5: Relationship & personal skills for
I/C leadership
• Module 6: Summary and where to from here
Linking with Higher Education
Initiatives
PREPARING FOR
THE PANEL
What do we want to
ask?
Intercultural space
Homi Bhaba (1990, 1994)
• cultural diversity
• challenges idea of ‘cultural purity’
• the ‘third space’:
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a space in-between cultures
avoids binary oppositions
shared space
‘hybridity’
allows and holds difference, is sometimes confronting,
ambiguous, uncertain and risky
– space of struggle yet deep potential
Intercultural space
Dudgeon & Fielder (2006)
• Indigenous Australian programs in universities
– cultural renaissance
– decolonisation framework centred on Indigenous
knowledge and experience
– ‘third space’
– ‘strategic essentialism’ (Spivac)
– use of binary oppositions as a strategic response
to colonialism
Intercultural space
Nakata et al (2012)
• binary oppositions: introductory level
• cautions against creating ongoing
binary oppositions
• healthy rigorous debate in the
intercultural space or ‘middle ground’
• deeper theoretical critique of Western
& Indigenous knowledge systems
Intercultural leadership qualities
• Critical self-reflection
– inter-cultural positioning
– limits of our own knowledge – what is
obscured and unarticulated
– limits of thinking on both sides
– blind spots?
(Nakata et al 2012)
Intercultural leadership qualities
• Capacity to:
– facilitate open, exploratory & creative inquiry
in the intersections between cultures (middle
ground)
– to create a space that invites and holds
difference
– create a space that is inclusive and expansive
– guide and facilitate dialogue & discussion so
students engage and avoid ‘fence sitting’
(Nakata et al 2012)
Intercultural leadership qualities
• build tools & language and resources to help
students engage in this space
• withstand the tension
• come up for air
• re-engage with the intercultural space
• courage
(Nakata et al 2012)
It is the third week of semester and you are discussing with your students the concept
of cultural security in health services and the impacts of social determinants on
Indigenous health and wellbeing. A bright, articulate male student starts to squirm
noticeably in his chair. He is mumbling under his voice and you ask him if he would like
to share his thoughts with the rest of the class. He responds, with an argumentative
tone, that he feels angry that health professionals have to constantly be asked to think
about how to improve care for Aboriginal patients when there are so many other
cultures in Australia who use health services and face just as many, if not more
complex barriers. The student continues: “a lot of the problems Aboriginal patients
come in for, they create - we’re asking them not to smoke, or eat so much junk food or
drink so much booze…”
The student goes on to argue that in his rural home town, “…most of ‘the Aboriginals’
were obese and that was because of the way they ate...why should we help them
when they aren’t helping themselves? That’s tax payer’s money paying for public
health care, so much money has been spent on Aboriginals over the years and
nothing’s changed…. since I’m a tax payer I want to spend my taxes on helping people
who are at least trying….” A few of the students sitting near him mumble their
agreement, others look a bit stunned and they all look to you to respond.
Scenario
• As an intercultural leader in this scenario,
what are some of the tensions you might
experience within yourself AND as a
facilitator?
• Given the student’s response what are 2 key
strategies you would use to ensure this space
remains inclusive and expansive?
References
• Bhaba, Homi (1994) The location of culture. London: Routledge
• Dudgeon, P., & Fielder, J. (2006). Third spaces within tertiary places:
Indigenous Australian studies. Journal of Community & Applied Social
Psychology, 16, 396-409.
• Rutherford, J. (1990). The third space. Interview with Homi Bhabha. In H.
Ders (Ed.), Identity: Community, culture, difference. pp. 207-221. London:
Lawrence and Wishart.
• Nakata, M., Nakata, V., Keech, S., & Bolt, R. (2012). Decolonial goals and
pedagogies for Indigenous studies. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education
& Society 1(1), 120-140.
• Nakata, M. (2007). The cultural interface. The Australian Journal of
Indigneous Education, 36(Supplement), 7-22.
Community of Practice
What does a Community
of Practice mean to you?
Community of Practice
• Definition:
Wenger et al (2002) described a Community of
Practice as groups of people who may not
work together but share a concern, a set of
problems or a passion about a topic and want
to extend their knowledge, skills and
understanding in this area by interacting on an
ongoing basis.
Who is part of your
Community of Practice &
what is their role?
Objectives of Community of Practice
• Gradually develop a unique perspective on the
topic
• Build a body of common knowledge and
practice.
• Establish personal relationships and ways of
interacting and may even develop a common
sense of identity.
• They can produce useful information, tools,
and procedures which also becomes part of
the life of the community.
Agents of Change
Smith & Freedman (1972:223) claim that agents
of change must first learn to be effective
within the institution or organisation:
• Students as agents of change
• Tutors as agents of change
• Networks with agents of change
Community of Practice
What are some of the challenges
facing a Community of Practice?
What are the factors that can
facilitate it’s success?
Community of Practice Sustainability
In order to sustain as entities they need to:
• Set their own agenda, be self organising & establish their own
leadership
• Not managed or mandated
• Supported via the provision of infrastructure
• Support to work through obstacles where necessary by senior
management
• Value clearly recognized
• Senior organisational management available to listen to
stories & regularly ‘check in’
• Senior management must be prepared to invest time,
resources and/or finances to support
• Supported by power brokers and decision makers who share similar
vision
• Employment security and professional development
(Wegner, 1998; Wenger, E & Snyder, 2000)
•Presentation of
Certificates
•Where to from here?
•Close